Appeals Judicial Council head says June 12 timeline is unconstitutional and issued against instructions

The Appeals Judicial Council of the opposition MDP has been asked to issue an interim order to cancel the announcement for the party’s chairman election.

Head of the MDP Appeals Judicial Council, Ahmed Abdulla Afeef, has sent a letter to interim chairman Abdul Ghafoor Moosa requesting the cancellation of the announcement for the chairperson’s election.

The letter said the timeline released on Wednesday, which set the election date for June 12, was issued against his instructions.

He wrote that the party’s constitution gives the Appeals Judicial Council the authority to plan and conduct the MDP chairperson election, and therefore it is unconstitutional for any party member to make decisions regarding the election without informing him.

Afeef said he had attended a meeting of the election committee on the organisation of the chairperson election and would decide on the timeline after consulting the committee comprising party leaders and the chairperson.

“At this time of unrest among the party leaders, it is not appropriate to take a decision that could harm the internal interests of the party,” the letter said.

He also noted that many MDP members had been transferred to the ruling PNC without their knowledge.

He wrote that members usually check their registered party when voting in internal elections, and holding the election without allowing those expelled to rejoin would violate the electoral rights of candidates and members.

Afeef therefore requested that the announcement and timeline for the chairperson election be declared invalid and that the decision be communicated to party members.

In a separate letter, lawyer Abdulla Shaairu also asked the MDP Appeals Judicial Council to annul the announcement of the chairperson election.

Under Art. 18 of the MDP Charter, every member has the right to vote. The 22 April 2026 notice restricts that right. As it concerns the Chairperson election, I have submitted an appeal today under Article 46 to the Appeals Judicial Council, via @MDPSecretariat, seeking to review,…

— Abdulla Shaairu (@AbdullaShaairu) April 23, 2026

Shaairu told Sun that the election of the MDP chairperson must be conducted based on the decisions of the Appeals Judicial Council.

He said the announcement requiring those who wish to vote to join the MDP by Wednesday was not made in accordance with democratic principles.

“The reason for cancelling the decision is that there is nothing in the party’s constitution that states that a cut‑off date can be fixed,” Shaairu said.

He said that in other countries and in Maldives, only age‑based cut‑offs are used for elections, and there is no provision in the MDP constitution allowing a membership cut‑off date.

Shaairu also said the election timeline should be determined under a separate system when setting the date.

The election for the MDP chairperson is scheduled for June 12. Applications for the post were open until May 2. Only those registered as members of the party as of Wednesday will be eligible to vote.

So far, former President Mohamed Nasheed, Galolhu South MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem, and former MP Alhan Fahumy have expressed interest in the post.

It is noteworthy that former President Nasheed and former Chairman Fayyaz Ismail on Thursday accused the party’s “temporary leaders” of obstructing the “interim leaders” as a large number of people were joining the party to vote.

In a video shared on Facebook on Thursday, Nasheed said he was pleased that many people had joined the party on Wednesday.

He said the purpose of holding competitive internal elections is to increase the party’s membership. However, he expressed regret that the time given to new members was shortened when determining who could vote.

Nasheed said he hoped to work with all the new members in the future.

In a post on X, Fayyaz said the party had 44,000 members on Tuesday, and the number had risen to 50,000 on Wednesday.

“And if we had done this wisely, we would not have lost the opportunity to increase the party’s membership to 60,000,” he said.